Sleeping Doppelganger - A Twist in the Tale
by Dolphingirl32173
Summary: An alternate path Sleeping Doppelganger could have taken. Damon/Elena
1. Katherine's Revised Plan

Sleeping Doppelganger  
A Twist in the Tale  
DG32173

Sarah: I had an idea that was another take on the theme I used in _Sleeping Doppelganger._ Only, this time, Elena's unaware that what she's dreaming isn't real. I hope you enjoy. Be kind and leave a review telling me what you think. I hope you enjoy. Also, if you want the back story, look in the author note of chapter two of _Sleeping Doppelganger._ That information stays the same, just the story changes.

_**DISCLAIMER**_  
If I owned _The Vampire Diaries,_ a lot of things would have happened very differently in the show. As it is, I only own what I write as it is written. Don't steal.

_**WARNINGS**_  
ALTERNATE UNIVERSE! Rated M for my sanity, not that I have any.

_**SUMMARY**_  
An alternate path _Sleeping Doppelganger_ could have taken. _**Damon/Elena**_

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Chapter 1  
Katherine's Revised Plan

Elena sighs as she tiredly climbs the stairs to her room. A rough night, a long day at school, and yet _another_ fight with Stefan about his overprotective habits have summed up to a very worn out Elena Gilbert. All she wants is to climb in her big comfy bed and crash. Homework can wait until later or even tomorrow! It's Friday, after all. Little does Elena realize that she's going to get her wish for sleep in a way she wasn't expecting. She opens the door to her room and turns to shut the door behind her. She shrugs out of her backpack and drops it and her purse on the floor by her door.

She turns around to find Katherine Pierce standing in the middle of her room, studying her. She fumbles in her back pocket for her phone but Katherine flashes forward and pins her against the back of her bedroom door by the neck, yanking her vervaine necklace off. "Drop the phone," Katherine tells Elena, putting compulsion into her words. Elena's suddenly lax fingers drop the phone before she can speed dial for help. It bounces on the floor once before settling. "Good to know that you don't ingest vervaine as well as wear it," Katherine says softly, looking down at the phone. She returns her gaze to meet Elena's. "When I release you, you will go sit on your bed and remain completely silent. You will not say anything and you will not make a sound. When I ask a question, you will nod for 'yes' and shake your head for 'no'. You will be _completely_ honest with your answer." Katherine smirks and pulls away from Elena. As much as the human tries to fight it, her body obeys Katherine's command. "You know, I'm tired of watching you as you make yourself absolutely miserable just to please your so-called friends. I came back to this godforsaken town with the intention of leaving with a Salvatore on my arm. I still plan on doing so, though my plan has been unfortunately delayed due to unforeseen circumstances. I _want_ Stefan to be the Salvatore on my arm. There's only one problem with that: he's infatuated with you." Elena's eyes widen. "You noticed I didn't say he's in love with you. That's because he's not. He's in love with some impossible image of you he has painted himself. You're nothing like the girl he's painted you out to be. I know you very well, Elena. I've kept an eye on you as you grew up, as I have with all my descendants. I was nearby the day you were born. I remember your first cry, a protest of being forced to leave your mother's warm, safe womb. As soon as I caught sight of your eyes, I knew that looking at you would be like looking in a mirror in just a matter of years. As you can see, I was right. The only physical difference between us is your birthmark. Such a cute thing. Anyways, I came back to this town with two plans I am going to put in motion by playing one little game. You, my darling granddaughter, are going to be the game board. The Salvatore brothers will be the pieces. I already know the outcome of this game, because I'm not taking any chances with _this_ plan being derailed."

Katherine tosses her curly hair over her shoulder. "Anyways, the rules are going to be simple: I compel you to sleep. And the brother that can wake you up will be the one who's your true soulmate. I assure, it's not going to be Stefan. You do believe in soulmates, right?" she asks. Elena nods grudgingly. "You're absolutely miserable being Stefan's girl, aren't you?" Katherine asks. Elena's ashamed to nod yes to that question. "It's nothing to be ashamed of. You and he weren't made for each other. There's too much fire in you, too much zest for life, for the two of you to be compatible for long. I'm not just doing this for me. I'm actually giving you the easy way out of your dead end relationship with Stefan. No one's feelings will be hurt too much. It's about time for your so-called friends to wake up and face facts. If they can't accept that what they've been manipulating you into doing is making you absolutely miserable, then they aren't really your friends, are they?" Katherine asks, raising an eyebrow. Elena feels tears trailing down her cheeks as she shakes her head, agreeing that friends wouldn't do that. "I know it hurts to face the truth, Elena. But I refuse to watch you turn into me. I used to be a lot like you. But, just like you, I let myself be manipulated by people I knew from infancy because I was fooling myself into thinking they were my friends. Friends don't manipulate each other, Elena. Friends don't force you to be miserable because they are so certain this one guy was your 'soulmate' when, really, you and he had _very_ little in common. The real soulmates in your situation are you and Damon. And it's about time everyone faces that fact and get over it. If they can't accept that you love our blue-eyed Salvatore with every fiber of your being, then you should just kick them out of your life. My favorite Latin saying is 'Amore Vincit Omnia'. 'Love Conquers All' in modern day English. I'm going to make sure your love for Damon and his love for you conquers all obstacles. But I'm not being completely selfless here. I'm also doing this so that I can have _my_ happy ending. Stefan and I belong together just the same way you and Damon do."

Katherine flashes forward to grab Elena's chin and force the human to meet her eyes. "Now, Elena. You are going to go to sleep. You are going to dream of the way your life would be if you were actually _happy_ with it. And _only_ the man truly loves you and who you truly love in return will be able to wake you from your dream. You will not be able to tell the dream you will be having from reality until he comes into your mind and proves to you that he will sacrifice the world to make you happy. Only then will you know dream from reality and be able to wake up. Pleasant dreams, Elena. Good night." Katherine releases her grip on Elena's mind and chin at the same time. The younger doppelganger's eyes drift close as she falls back on her bed, fast asleep. "Now for step two," Katherine tells herself. She pulls an envelope from her purse and places it on the bed next to Elena so that it will be immediately noticeable. Then she walks over and picks up Elena's cell phone. She starts a new text message addressed to both Salvatore brothers.

_Leaving Elena's room now. Let the game begin. ;) K.P._

She hits send, sets Elena's phone on the bed next to the sleeping girl, then flicks out the window with a smirk. 'This is going to be so much fun,' she thinks to herself as she makes her way to the repossessed manor she had decided too make her home for the time being.


	2. The Rules of the Game

Sleeping Doppelganger  
A Twist in the Tale  
DG32173

Sarah: here's chapter two of this take on _Sleeping Doppelganger._ I hope you enjoy. Please be kind and leave a review telling me what you think.

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Chapter 2  
The Rules of the Game

Damon burst through Elena's open window exactly three seconds ahead of Stefan. He takes in the scene: Elena sleeping on her bed with her phone next to her and an envelope with all-too-familiar handwriting addressed to the brothers positioned where it would be impossible to miss. Even so, he ignores the envelope in favor of trying to wake up Elena. He grabs her shoulders and gently shakes her. "Elena, wake up!" he demands. "Come on, kitten, you need to wake up and tell us what happened! Wake _up!"_

Stefan, meanwhile, takes the envelope and rips it open. He quickly reads the letter and groans. "She's not going to wake up, Damon," Stefan says softly.

"What do you _mean?"_ Damon snarls.

"Katherine _compelled_ her to sleep," the younger brother replies, passing over the piece of paper with Katherine's handwriting.

Damon snatches the letter from Stefan's hand and reads it. It says:

_Damon and Stefan Salvatore,  
As well as the rest of you so-called friends of hers,_

_My how history loves repeating itself. Only I'm not going to let Elena force herself to be miserable just to please her so-called friends. I'm not going to let her turn into me. So, I decided to play one last game with the three of you. Elena is the game board, you two are the pieces. The rules are simple: the brother who can wake her from the sleep I compelled her into will be the one who truly loves her and she truly loves in return. The brother who wakes her up will get the girl for eternity. She will be dreaming about what her life would be like if she were __truly__ happy with it. She won't know it's just a dream, I made sure of that. You'll have to get into her head and make her face the truth of she's been hiding from for so very long now. The only clue you get to help you figure out who she really loves will be what she's dreaming. Only her soulmate will be able to take control of the dream enough to make her realize that she's merely dreaming of the happy life she's been denying herself._

_She and I had a short talk before I began the game. I forced her to be completely honest with her answers to the questions I chose to ask her. She wasn't very happy about the truth I was forcing her to face. But it's high time she stop lying to herself. If you don't want her ending up just like me, then you two and her so-called friends had better accept her heart's choice. She's been trying so hard to please everyone only to end up making herself miserable. What kind of friends do that? Not __real__ friends, I assure you. If you lot truly __cared__ about her, you'd want her to be happy instead of forcing your ideas of how she should live her life down her throat. Well, I won't put up for it any longer. It's high time my last descendant gets the happiness she deserves after all the misery she's gone through._

_Let the game begin._

_Katherine Pierce_

Damon scowls. "We should call the others," he growls, pulling out his phone. "I'll call Rick, the kid, and Judgy. You get a hold of the others. Have them meet us here."

Twenty minutes later

It takes fifteen minutes for all of Elena's friends to gather in the Gilbert living room and another five minutes for everyone to be brought up-to-date. Now their all sitting in silence, trying to puzzle out the clues Katherine gave them in her letter. Elena is laid out on the couch with her head resting in Damon's lap. Damon's absently running his fingers through her hair while he thinks.

"Assuming Katherine told the truth in her letter, one of you two," Caroline starts, pointing first at Stefan and then at Damon, "will be able to wake Elena up. And the biggest clue on which one of you will be able to wake her will be in whatever she's dreaming."

"Katherine's always went by the rule of there _being_ no rules," Damon replies. "Why she'd change that for this is beyond me."

"There has to be something she gets out of this as well," Stefan muses. "Katherine only does something for someone when she gets something out of it as well."

Bonnie rolls her eyes. "Are you guys dense or something?" she demands. Everyone turns towards the witch. "Katherine wants a Salvatore on her arm. That's why she came back to Mystic Falls the first time, remember? She's obviously gotten to the point where she's willing to let Elena be happy with the brother she loves if it means she gets the other brother."

A soft clapping alerts the group to an unwanted audience. They turn to see Katherine standing in the doorway to the living room. "Bravo, little witch," she says mockingly. "It took Emily _years_ to get to know me well enough that she would have been able to make that deduction. I'm impressed." Several of the group leap to their feet, prepared to attack. "Ah, ah, ah," Katherine chides before vanishing from her spot to reappear only a second later with Elena in her arms. "Wouldn't want her to get hurt, would you?" she asks. Everyone freezes. "Now, we are going to have a little chat before I let this game continue to play itself out. Now, return to your seats or I'm going to snap her neck. There's no magic spell or vampire blood to save her if she dies right now." Everyone unwillingly returns to their seats, not willing to take the chance that Katherine might not be bluffing. But they all remain tense, glaring at the vampiress. "Now, as I said in my little letter, Elena and I had a chat before I put the game in motion. I compelled her to be completely honest with me when answering yes or no questions I asked. I chose three little questions that would force her to face the facts. The first one was simple: I asked if she believed in soulmates. She nodded yes to that one. The next two were a bit harder on her because she's been refusing to face the honest answers to them. One was a yes or no question regarding her feelings about being your girl," she says, freeing a hand to point at Stefan. "I won't tell you the question, but I assure you, she wasn't happy when my compulsion on her forced her to honestly answer yes to it. I'll leave it up to your imagination. Then the next question is the real kicker of the three. I talked to her a bit about my life as a human and remarked how similarly I acted then to how she's acting now. My final question for her was if you lot were _really_ her friends and cared about her, would you have been manipulating her into being miserable just to fulfill your ideas of how her life should run. I wasn't surprised when she shook her head that no, you wouldn't be. There were tears on her cheeks at that one. I understand her pain because, you see, I went through the exact same thing with people I thought were my friends when I was human. No one was there to step in and point out that if they were _really_ my friends, I wouldn't be forced to make myself miserable to keep them happy. No one was there to point out that they weren't acting the way true friends would. No one pointed out that by making me choose between their friendship and my happiness, they were being selfish brats who didn't _deserve_ my friendship. So I made myself miserable to keep them as my friends. Elena and I started out our lives with nearly identical circumstances. I'm not going to stand by as she makes the choices I did that led to who I am now. I will not watch Elena Gilbert turn into another Katherine Pierce. So I stepped in for her where no one stepped in for me. It's not too late to salvage her humanity. I did what I had to do to force her and you lot of selfish brats to face the truth about what _she_ wants that would make _her_ happy rather than the eager-to-please puppy routine she's pulling now. Speaking of puppies. If the similarity in our lives is anything to go by, someone should let her get a dog," Katherine ends with a twitch of her lips. "Now, think about what I said. Are you going to go on being selfish brats and force her to continue down a path that will end up turning her into me? Or are you going to grow up and start acting like _real_ friends who actually _care_ about her thoughts and opinions and listens to what would make _her_ happy? Keep in mind, she looks like me for more reasons than one. The Doppelganger curse was on my bloodline long before the Original Witch used my ancestress Tatia to create the vampire race. Every doppelganger's life starts out with uncanny similarities. It's her choices and the path she is forced upon by those around her that leads to her becoming an individual. Don't let a second Katherine Pierce make an appearance in this world. One of me is enough as it is," she says, gently lowering Elena's body to the ground. "Let the game continue. Bye now."

With that, Katherine vanishes from the Gilbert house. Damon is the first one to move, instantly appearing at Elena's side. He gently checks her over for any injuries Katherine may have inflicted. "Judgy, get your ass in gear and get over here to check her out with your magic," he snaps.

Bonnie snaps out of her daze and quickly rises from her chair. She makes her way over to Damon and Elena, kneeling next to them. She gently takes Elena's head in her hands, closes her eyes, and concentrates, checking for anything out-of-the-ordinary. "She's okay, just trapped in a really good dream," Bonnie says finally. "I can't really get a clear enough grasp on the dream to tell what's going on in it, though. All I know is it's making her really happy. She's completely ignoring my attempts to wake her from it."

"Guess we'll have to do what Katherine said and go in her head to bring her back out," Damon sighs. "Well, Steffie, you're her boyfriend. You're up to bat first."

Stefan scowls at Damon but makes his way over to where the trio are at. He checks to see if she's wearing the necklace he had given her, but it's missing. "Katherine must have the necklace," he says. He takes Bonnie's place and gently cups Elena's face in his hands. He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes, using his Power to send his consciousness into Elena's mind in an attempt to draw her out of her dream world.


	3. Shattered Hope

Sleeping Doppelganger  
A Twist in the Tale  
DG32173

Sarah: here's chapter 3 of this version of _/Sleeping Doppelganger._ I hope you enjoy. I would be so grateful to you if you left a review when you're done. Now, on with the chapter.

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Chapter 3  
Shattered Hope

_Stefan finds himself in a bedroom he recognizes as Elena's room in the Gilbert house only by the dimensions and the placement of the doors and window. Everything else is completely different from her real room. Her dream room has a distinctly Damon-esque feel in the atmosphere mixed with Gothic-style furnishings and colors. Elena is sitting on a canopy bed carved from mahogany. The canopy, curtains, and comforter are all black velvet while the sheets and pillowcases are blood red._

_Elena herself is dressed in a blood red corset-style top with a black leather mini-skirt. Around her neck is a black leather collar with real rubies embedded all the way around. She's writing in her journal, a content smile on her lips. She looks happier than Stefan had ever seen her outside of Damon's presence._

_Suddenly, something makes her look up, seemingly right at him. A huge grin spreads across her face. "I was beginning to think you weren't coming," she says happily. She sets her pen and journal to the side and slides off the bed._

_Stefan thinks she's talking to him and reaches out to hold her. He's beyond surprised when she passes right through him like he's a ghost. He turns around to see _Damon_ standing next to the window seat with a satisfied grin on his lips. Stefan immediately senses that this Damon is only part of her dream._

"_And miss out on my girl's birthday? Not a chance," dream-Damon chuckles. "You only turn eighteen once, you know. No, I'm definitely not missing that. I was actually talking to your father."_

'_But her father's dead!' Stefan thinks in surprise. 'Both of them!'_

"_What about?" Elena asks curiously._

"_Well, you know I'm not big on tradition. But there are a few even I think should be followed," Damon says, smiling warmly at her. "Have a seat and I'll tell you what we talked about."_

"_You're making me nervous," Elena accuses. But she does sit down on the window seat's black cushion. "Okay, tell me what you and Dad were talking about."_

"_We both know he only tolerates me for your sake. I knew if I was to go through with this, I'd need Grayson's blessing. It took some time to convince him I was completely serious, which is why I was late. But, in the end, he gave me his blessing to ask you something that's been on my mind since we met."_

_Stefan senses where this is going and feels sick for the first time since he was human. If Katherine's words were true, then this dream is what Elena's life would be like if she was truly happy with it. And the mere thought that she _wants_ this life with Damon makes him sick with jealousy._

"_Whatever you're leading up to, Damon, get to it already," Elena says, rolling her eyes._

"_As you wish," Damon replies with a wink. He reaches into his pocket and kneels in front of her. "Elena, meeting you was the best thing to ever happen to me. Being with you has brought me more joy than I ever thought I could feel. Elena Gilbert, would you do me the considerable honor of becoming my eternal bride?" dream-Damon asks, pulling out a red velvet ring box and flipping It open to reveal a silver band with a pale blue lapis lazuli gem held amid bands of silver._

"No!" Stefan says sharply, finding himself suddenly back in the real world. He jerks away from Elena as if he'd been burned.

"Apparently baby bro doesn't like whatever happy life Elena is dreaming about," the real Damon remarks dryly. Stefan snarls at him but retreats further away. "That means it's my turn," Damon says. He gently pulls Elena into his arm so that her back is braced against his chest. He tucks her head under his chin, closes his eyes, and uses his Power to slide into her dream, determined to succeed where his brother had failed.


End file.
